Former Prime Minister Harold Wilson once said that a week is a long time in politics. That adage could equally apply to football - and Crewe Alex in particular.

It was only just over a week ago that the more optimistic Alex fans were contemplating a play-off push in the final third of the season.

Such hopes have faded following two lacklustre performances that lacked quality and energy, with both ending in defeat.

Earlier last week Steve Davis alluded to some of his players being mentally and physically tired due to a congested fixture list.

But is fatigue an understandable reason or a lame excuse for recent poor performances?

Surely players ought to be able to cope with two games a week – the fitness and physiotherapy teams should ensure the team are fit, and such complaints of being tired aren’t always well received by fans who consider being a professional footballer to be a dream job.

However, the current situation at Crewe is perhaps different to that at most clubs in League One.

Commitments in the FA Youth Cup, Under 21s League as well as fixtures in League One place demands on a young first-team squad that require careful management if players are to remain energised.

Ben Garratt’s injury on Saturday highlights how an accumulation of games can take its toll, but options to make many changes to a jaded team are limited due to a squad that lacks quality in depth.

Davis might look to the loan market to reinforce the squad, but this is not without its limitations in terms of number of loan players allowed and also budgetary constraints.

Tough upcoming fixtures will test the mettle of this squad and any tiredness, physical or mental, must be overcome if League One status is to be preserved.

This is where leadership will play a key role, and where the more experienced players such as Harry Davis, Alan Tate and Anthony Grant must come to the fore and instil more passion and belief within the team.

Whether the last two games prove to be a mere blip amid a good run of form or are the beginning of a more prolonged decline will depend on this leadership, along with minimising the effects of any tiredness within the squad.

While a week is a long time in football, if the rest of the season becomes a relegation battle then the next two-and-a-half-months will feel like an eternity.